Mural Inspiration: Germany 2014

Photo #1 is across the street from the famous East Side Gallery in Berlin. The mural reads: “Berlin is poor but sexy.” It is how Mayor Klaus Wowereit described the city a decade ago to attract creative types to the city. It worked, as Berlin has an abundance of artist, writers, musicians and now, tech startups.

Photo #2 is at a building in the Kreuzberg neighborhood in Berlin. It is a neighborhood that has gone through intense gentrification through the last decade. It was once a “dirty” neighborhood known for immigrants and has recently attracted wealthy residents. It is a familiar conflict for Mission residents. The one in Kreuzberg is between the long-time residents and the hipsters, from throughout the world, that have made the neighborhood their home.

Photo #3 is outside the St. Pauli Football Club Stadium in Hamburg and it reads “FCSP (Football Club St. Pauli) stays political.” The neighborhood, and the club, have a long history of left-wing politics. The fans speak out against fascism and saved their club from bankruptcy. The club currently plays in the second division of the Bundesliga, but that does not stop it from regularly attacking 20,000 fans each home game.

Photo #4 is a sign hanging hanging from an apartment window right next door to a proposed luxury housing development at the St. Pauli neighborhood in Hamburg. It reads “Esso Houser (the name of the luxury housing development) 100% social investors go fuck yourselves.”